Definition and Examples of Literary Terms

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Interjection

Definition of Interjection

An interjection is a short expression that writers use to express emotion. Interjections can stand alone, or they can appear at the beginning or end of a sentence. Interjections can convey emotions without necessarily connecting to the main idea, and neither a subject nor verb needs to be present in order to define an interjection.

Interjections are also considered exclamations. An exclamation usually follows an interjection, or comes at the end of an exclamatory sentence. For instance, exclamation marks are used to show the speaker’s sadness in the following sentence:

Examples of Interjections in Literature

Example #1: La Belle Dame Sans Merci (by John Keats)

“And there she lullèd me asleep,
And there I dream’d – ah! woe betide!
The latest dream I ever dream’d
On the cold hill’s side.”

Keats has used a short clause as an interjection, shown here in italics. The exclamation points show extreme suffering on the part of the speaker. The speaker’s expression emphasizes the medieval romantic setting of a cave, where a woman lulls a knight to sleep and he begins to dream.

Example #3: Mother and Child (by Eugene Field)

Field has employed different forms of interjections here. In the first line, he has used an exclamation point to express surprise, while in the second line he has used the noun phrase “my love” as an interjection. In the third line, the word “Alas!”, complete with exclamation point, is used to express the sadness of a grieving mother.

Example #4: Waiting for Godot (by Samuel Beckett)

Vladimir:
“Oh pardon! I could have sworn it was a carrot. (He rummages again in his pockets, finds nothing but turnips.) All that’s turnips…”

At the beginning of this excerpt, Vladimir has used the short clause “oh pardon” as an interjection to show weak emotion.

Example #5: Ode to Nightingale (by John Keats)

“Forlorn! the very word is like a bell
To toll me back from thee to my sole self!
Adieu! the fancy cannot cheat so well…
Adieu! adieu! thy plaintive anthem fades”

In this final stanza of this poem, Keats uses the term “forlorn” as the sound of a ringing bell, to bring the speaker out of his reverie about the nightingale, and back to real life. Keats uses this interjection, as well as the term “adieu” to indicate the speaker’s sorrow.

Functions of Interjections

Interjections can appear as a single phrase, word, or short clause. The most critical function of an interjection is its ability to convey emotions that might otherwise go ignored in a sentence. Through interjections, writers can express emotions, such as joy, excitement, surprise, sadness, or even disgust. They can also exaggerate those emotions through the use of an exclamation point.

Though interjections may seem trivial, their function as a part of speech is significant. It is often difficult to express emotions in the written language, and without interjections it might otherwise be impossible.